New Beginnings
by Aishiteru Sabaku no Gaara
Summary: GaaraxOC Gaara longs to be back in action instead of stuck doing paperwork. He decides to resign and go on an adventure to continue his shinobi career. But who will he meet along the way? Written for LostSocks11 as a request :3
1. Resignation

**A/N:** **All right. So! I decided to write another GaaraxOC fic. I wasn't planning on doing another one because personally, I thought I sucked at it. But hey! Thanks to LostSocks11 for motivating me to do another one. You really are too kind. Anywho! I'm using a different OC so yeah. Let's see where this goes, shall we? Ja ne!**

_Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. But a few characters in this story are mine, such as Akki and Elana._

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 1: Resignation_

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><p>Things hadn't been going too well in the village of Suna. The village had definitely reverted back to the way they viewed Gaara, their Kazekage. He had been Kazekage for nearly three years now and throughout that time, he hadn't had one slip up. Until just a few months ago. Once the Akatsuki were disposed of by numerous people, the bijuu were set free from their imprisonment. Gaara's was returned to his body, the Ichibi being quite comfy in its host. However, this also came with many different personality changes. He was sleep deprived yet again. It took him quite a while to get used to not sleeping again. The only support he had was Temari and Kankuro. And even then, Kankuro was dead. Yes, Kankuro was sent out on a mission a few weeks back. His mission was to take out one of the ninja that threatened to assassinate the leaders of all the major countries. Unfortunately, Kankuro had tracked down the leader of the assassins and engaged in battle. Nothing was heard from him for a few days and then when ninja were sent to scout for him... they came back with a body.<p>

As the Kazekage sat at his desk, he sighed to himself. It was a swift gust of air, but it was noticeable. His sea green eyes concentrated on nothing in particular as pale hands ran through his short fiery hair. Just by looking at him, anyone could tell he was stressed. He had mounds of paperwork sitting on his desk, built up from the past few weeks that he had been dealing with funeral arrangements. He had to get things situated with the stone, epitaph, where he would be buried. Eventually, he decided on a place, but now there was paperwork he had to fill out and sign, what with him being family and all. He didn't know why Temari didn't do it, but he supposed that it was only right, considering she was still grieving. So, with yet another heavy sigh, he delved into the mound of paperwork.

What had gone so wrong? Why were things happening so horribly for him? Was it because he had the Ichibi back inside of him? Probably. The Bijuu had been nothing but bad luck. Or maybe it was because everyone in Suna liked to take advantage of Gaara because they discovered he had a heart and wasn't a monster. As Gaara sat there, he heard a knock on the door. "Enter," he called as he continued to fill out the paperwork.

The door to the Kazekage's work area opened to reveal a woman with long brown hair put up in a ponytail. The long strands hung to her upper thighs, even as the hair was pulled up high on her head. Her eyes were the deepest sapphire blue. She wore high heeled shoes and a short wrap-around kimono-style dress. The pattern was a deep red with black trim. Her face bore a smile as she held papers close to her chest. She shut the door behind her silently and walked elegantly over to the Kazekage. "Lord Gaara, this paperwork just arrived for you," she said in a honey soft voice.

The Kazekage looked up then. The woman handed him the papers with a small timid smile before he hesitantly took them with a nod. "Thank you, Elana," he said softly, setting the paperwork aside with a small glare at it. More paperwork. He didn't mind being the Kazekage, but with so many requests to do things, it got a little tiresome. He'd signed his name so many times that he could actually say he was starting to hate it.

The woman nodded quietly and bowed as she stepped back. "Sir, the council wants to know if you finished signing the funeral papers," she said softly. Gaara sifted through his papers and looked at the funeral papers before signing his name and handing them off to her. Well, that was four less papers, he supposed. "Thank you. Is there anything I can get you? Some tea perhaps?" she asked with an inviting smile, trying to hint that he'd been locked up in the office for several days now without sustenance and it wasn't healthy.

Gaara caught the hint as he faltered in his writing that he'd gone back to doing to nod quietly. "Yes, thank you," he replied, lifting his gaze only momentarily with a grateful look in his eyes. It was brief, but with Gaara, emotions were a fleeting thing. If you didn't catch it right then and there, you missed it. His expressions were few and far between. Some would even say he was emotionally retarded. However, that wasn't the case. He just refused to show emotions because anything he did could set off Shukkaku. Not only that, but it was just his personality. He didn't say things unless things called for a response. He didn't do anything unless the time called for action. Now, Gaara was not lazy, by any means. But he did know when there was a time and place for things. Well, that and he was antisocial due to his past.

Elana smiled once more and nodded her head as she bowed and started to retreat out of the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Gaara turned his sight to the mound of paperwork that just seemed to keep piling up, even when he was already busy with it. He sifted through the paperwork and looked for deadlines, separating them accordingly as he usually did. As soon as all the papers were separated, the Kazekage looked upon the work he'd been given. Frown lines were starting to form on the young leader's face. He heard his bijuu laughing in the back of his head, making his glare intensify. After a few more moments of glaring at the paperwork, hoping it'd catch on fire or sign itself, Gaara gave up and stood from his seat. He walked over to the window silently and looked down at all the people walking through the streets. None of them knew what exactly they had done to the Kazekage. Either that, or they just didn't care.

Some information that was neglected to be mentioned. As soon as Gaara got the bijuu implanted back into his body, the whole village started to talk about him again. And not in a good way either. There were few shinobi that actually gave a rat's ass about him, but that was only because they actually knew him as a person and they saw him before everything happened leading up to when he became Kazekage. Now, they were talking like he was a monster again. Young children were being told to stay away from him. Ghost stories were invented by parents that wanted to put the fear of Kami into their kids. He'd been given anything from devil horns, to sharp teeth, to razor-sharp talons, to a glare that mirrored Medusa's. Some things never changed...

When Elana came back with his tea, she gently set it on the desk in front of Gaara. "Lord Gaara, is there anything I can do to lighten your load a little?" she asked with a small welcoming smile.

Gaara thought for a moment as he quietly sipped his tea. Honestly, there wasn't anything she could legally do. She couldn't sign his name or make decisions. No, Gaara was on his own. Sure, he wanted respect from his fellow villagers. And he didn't want to be feared anymore. But damn! This was just too much work. At first, it was fine. But now, Gaara was just too exhausted to even raise his tea, let alone sign his name. And then it hit him. He didn't have to do this anymore. He could just walk out. Let the village find another Kazekage. He was through being the docile, responsible man he'd been for Kame knows how long. "L-Lord Gaara?" called Elana, breaking him from his stupor.

The redhead looked up at the woman and blinked silently. Oh, right. She asked a question. What was it again? After a few moments of silence, Gaara picked up his brush and dipped it in the ink before scribbling some words on the parchment in front of him. Elana remained silent throughout, wondering what he was doing, but not daring to ask. After a few moments of writing, Gaara rolled up the paper and tied it with a red ribbon. He stood from his desk, holding out the parchment to Elana, who took it obediently. "Take this to Temari. That is all," he said, earning a hesitant nod from the woman.

Elana turned on her heel and made it to the door where she hesitated. The Kazekage looked at her for a few moments. "Lord Gaara, whatever you decide... I want you to know that it was an honor working with you," she said as she shot a small smile over her shoulder at him. Gaara reluctantly nodded his thanks and Elana left. He was free. Finally free. Now all he had to do was to think of a way out of this office and get out of the Suna territory. He was done. He could not _wait_ to get the hell out of here. He just wanted to go back to being a normal shinobi again. Maybe he could start over? Ah, details, details. He turned on his heel and made his way to his room before disrobing from the Kazekage garbs and getting into his normal attire: red jacket, gray vest, black boots, etc. He packed a few things in a backpack and took one last look around, prior to leaping out his bedroom window and letting his sand guide him from the gourde on his back. Arms crossed over his chest, he made his way to the village border. Now the hard part: getting past the guards.

Gaara let his sand lower him to the ground as he walked through the narrow gorge to the end of the village border where Jonin were perched restlessly. A few bowed and saluted him, but all he did was walk right past them. When he made it to the very front, he saw Baki, his old instructor waiting for him. "Lord Gaara, where are you going?"

The redhead turned his tired glance to the man. Without a word, Baki faltered and bowed with a small regretful sigh. The Jinchuuriki then walked right past him and off into the desert. However, a few moments later, Temari came running out, holding the parchment in her hand with a growl. "Gaara! Wait!" she called, but it was too late.

"What is it, Temari?" Baki asked with a raised brow.

"Gaara's resigned as Kazekage and abandoning the village!" she growled at him, shoving the parchment in his face.

Baki read it a few moments in silence before his eyes widened and his jaw fell open in astonishment. "He can't!" A few Jonin gathered around by this time and Baki growled. "All right! Go after Gaara and bring him back to the village at once! The Kazekage must be found!"

And so... The hunt begins.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, there ya have it! First chapter of an experimental story :3 Oh, and also... I want to clear it up now. The reason Baki just let him go was because, seriously, who would stop Gaara after getting glared at like that? Reviews make me happy!**


	2. Meeting

**A/N: First chapter's done. Now let's see what will happen this chapter :3 Oh, and btw... yes I did have to look up a Naruto world map to make sure I got this right xP Also, I haven't seen many pictures of River Country, so please just go with the image I created xP And also, I could find no pictures of what the River Country's shinobi sign was, so I gave a very general description of it... I figured, given the background, it'd be close to Ame. Anywho~ **

_Disclaimer: Gaara is not mine, nor is the Naruto series. But Akki and Elana are mine. Among other people that might be brought on later._

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 2: Meeting_

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><p>As Gaara walked out of Suna and into the actual Wind Country territory, he started to pick up the pace a little as the Ichibi verbally assaulted him in his head, calling him an idiot for leaving something so great and stuff. He paid no attention to the demon. The bad side to this was that he knew the Suna forces that would surely be searching for him, no doubt thanks to Temari or Baki. The good side to this was that he knew that since he had the Ichibi inside him, he didn't have to sleep so he could travel farther than the ninja from Suna. Yes, he had an advantage. Or two. He honestly didn't care either way what happened to Suna. They all treated him fine with the demon gone, but since he had Shukkaku back, he'd been treated like a monster. Because of one incident. An incident that wasn't his fault. An incident because he had fallen asleep out of habit. But he was blamed for it. And he was hated for it. And with the steadily rising hatred grew detachment. The only people that didn't fear him were Temari, Elana and Baki. But even then, saying Baki was pushing it. He knew Temari didn't fear him; he was her brother. He knew Elana didn't fear him, but he knew not why. Oh well. That was in the past. It was time for him to start a new life now.<p>

Walking deeper into River Country, Gaara looked around silently. He'd never been here before. It was calming. No wonder they called it River country. Rivers out the yang. He crossed a bridge after just staring out over the crystalline water. Maybe he could make this his new home? Well, no. he couldn't do that. He was too close to Suna. He'd have to venture out farther. Well... maybe. He'd think about that later. As he walked through the area, looking over the bridge and taking in the sight, he started to feel a bit more at ease here. A boat floated under the bridge and he just stared with his sea green eyes for a few moments. His arms were crossed over his chest in typical Gaara fashion as he stared, his gourd on his back. Then a thought came to him. In Suna, he was strongest because he had an unlimited amount of sand, should he run out. Though his sand in his gourd was chakra-infused and he could easily replace it, it would still be a pain to go digging in the dirt to get some more. He pursed his pale lips in thought. That would be troublesome. If he were to go to Iwa, there wouldn't be any sand at all; just rocks. And Ame was just too wet for his sand to do any damage. Kusa was overrun with grass. Oto... he didn't even want to think about going anywhere near that pervert Orochimaru. That man was beyond weird. Konoha... he couldn't risk going to familiar territory. He would have to make do with River country or maybe Kumo. That was fine. He was used to thinking on his feet. Always the analytical one, after all.

Once he was past the bridge, he delved deeper into the foresty area. With as many rivers as River Country had, he would have been surprised if they didn't have any trees. He saw a small town up ahead of him and paused for a moment, his head bowed a little with his eyes shut. A moment later, he leaped out of the way and in place of where he previously stood were four kunai sticking out of the ground with explosive tags on them. His green eyes searched the area before feeling a chakra signature nearby to his right. "You're bold trying to invade this territory. What is your reason for coming here?" came a heavenly female voice that could crush velvet. Gaara didn't answer as he pinpointed where the woman's voice came from. However, this was unnecessary as the woman revealed herself a few feet from Gaara after the explosive tags detonated, sand shooting up to protect him from the debris that followed. The woman glared at the man and then that was when Gaara got a good look at her.

Pale skin that rivaled those in Ame, cerulean blue eyes with a brown ring around the pupils that faded to green and then created the cerulean near the outer areas of her eyes. Her lips were the palest of pink and she was a bit shorter than Gaara's moderate stature. Her hair was a fiery orange color with golden blonde bangs. Her long fiery strands were pulled back into a high ponytail, but even then, her long hair still reached her upper thighs. She wore a baggy black shirt, like a stereotypical ninja, and tight black pants that showed off curvaceous hips. She wore typical black ninja shoes and had a red sash draping off of her hips. Fishnets adorned her arms, leading up to her forearms with black painted nails. She wore a black choker, which had the symbol of River country on it, which looked like a house of some sort. She had the elegance of a cat and the body of an angel.

Her multi-colored eyes narrowed at the man before her. "I'll ask you again. Why are you here?" she asked as shuriken appeared in between her fingers. Impressive. Seeing that she'd get no response, the woman tutted her tongue in annoyance before throwing the shuriken at him, the sand going up to block it easily. The woman growled angrily before doing a series of hand signs and slamming her hands into the dirt. Fangs protruded from her mouth and her face grew more animalistic as she started to transform into a cat, spirited tails appearing behind her in the crouched down position. Gaara's eyes widened minutely as he stared at the woman in apparent shock. What the hell sort of jutsu was this? She wasn't a Jinchuuriki so why would she take on the appearance of a cat? In a blink of his eyes, she was gone from view. Gaara's eyes widened a bit more when his sight drifted to above him, seeing her falling toward him, claws bared and ready to rip him to shreds. Close, but not close enough. The sand shot up as a protective barrier, earning a growl and a snarl from the female. When her claws came into contact with the sand, it put a crack in the shield. Gaara stared at the crack in the formation, a bit taken aback at this girl's power.

Once she hit the ground, she continued to assault the sand barrier, slashing away at it little by little. Snarls and grunts emitted from the woman as she continued to attack at the sturdy surface. As soon as Gaara memorized the strength and swiftness of her attacks, he waited for the perfect opportunity to send a well-aimed attack at her abdomen, sending her flying backwards into a tree. She growled in pain as she slid down before taking her feline stance again. Gaara was a bit amazed at this woman's determination. Reminded him of a certain blonde back in Konoha. Her eyes burned with the same determination, just like Naruto's had when he was protecting something important to him. Was that what she was doing? Protecting this small village? What made her think he was going to harm its inhabitants? Was his appearance really so menacing? She glared and growled at the man angrily, baring her fangs menacingly. "You won't get them!" she snarled as she dashed at him once more, snarling as she hacked away at the protective sand. This time when Gaara went to attack her with the sand, she avoided and actually got behind him, aiming a kick at his back before he caught it.

The woman grinned before poofing in a ball of smoke. A shadow clone? Gaara's eyes widened before the woman landed a kick to his gourd, cracking it and smacking his body into a tree. Damn raccoon didn't do its job! He pulled himself from the bark and glared at the woman, seeing an arrogant smirk on her face. She dug her heels into the dirt and prepared to dart toward Gaara. As soon as she shoved off, she closed the distance between them within a few moments. She raised her claws, hand glowing a bright orange. "Onee-sama! There you are!" called a little girl, making the woman's attention slip as she glanced behind her to see her sister. However, like Newton's law suggests: what is set in motion shall remain in motion until stopped by an external force. Well, the woman was that object set in motion, and Gaara was the external force. She collided with the redhead, sending them flying to the ground with Gaara on his back. She grunted as she fell on top of him before growling as she got up with an annoyed blush on her face. "Stupid siblings..." she growled as she turned to look at her little sister, seemingly forgetting all about the redhead that dragged himself to his feet as well with a grunt.

"Onee-sama, Onee-sama! Lookit what I made!" giggled the little girl with sugar pink hair and violet eyes as she bounced over to her elder sister. The orange-haired woman snatched up the little girl, remembering Gaara's presence, and backed away from him with her little sister. Once she was safely away from him, she set her sister on the ground and glared at her. "Aneki, what is it?" asked the little girl.

"Imoto, how many times have I told you not to leave the village?" growled the older girl. Gaara watched silently, being reminded of his own siblings. The little girl pouted before the woman sighed. "It's dangerous out here. I told you that. Now, run along to-"

"You just want to have some alone time with your boyfriend!" yelled the little girl, gaining Gaara's attention again, this time with a confused look sent to the two females.

The older girl stood and growled angrily at the girl. "He's not my boyfriend! He's trying to invade the village! Now, get your ass back in the village before you turn up missing!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing into narrow slits.

The little girl huffed, but did as she was told after sending a glance back at the redhead standing emotionlessly behind them. Once the little girl was out of sight, the woman scratched her head in annoyance, a hand on her hip. "Baka gaki..." she growled before turning her glare to Gaara. "Why didn't you attack?"

Gaara gave her a flat look. "I do not lower myself to attack children."

The woman smirked and shrugged. "Fair enough. But I was referring to me. Why didn't you attack me when I was distracted?"

The redhead quirked an unamused brow. There was a reason to attack her? "I did not come here to fight."

"Then why are you here in Tani?" countered the woman, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"That is none of your concern." The woman opened her mouth to continue, but Gaara cut her off with, "All you need to know is that I mean no harm to your village."

The woman raised a brow at him this time. "So let me guess... You seek refuge, right?" she asked, earning a hesitant nod from Gaara. The woman sighed and scratched her head for a moment, looking behind her at the village border. When she turned back around to look at Gaara, she sighed heavily in defeat. "All right, come on, Gaara," she said as she started to walk toward the village.

Gaara stared at her for a moment. How did she... "How-"

The woman scoffed. "Oh, please. Who hasn't heard of the famous Kazekage of Suna?" she asked as she turned an impish grin back at him. Gaara hesitantly followed. Fair enough. "Besides... I've heard all about you. Elana's my older sister," she said with a smirk.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope ya liked it! :3 Next chappie should be up soon! Reviews make me happeh!**


	3. Prove Your Worth

**A/N: Well, as it says on my profile, I've been busy with my internship, and not full time job. Sorry for the delay, but it appears that the only time I will have actual time to write and start on the story will be on the weekends. I'm sorry for the delay and I will try to get more updates in faster, but I can't guarantee anything. Also, I looked up on the Naruto website and saw the symbol for Tani so I edited. Hope you aren't too mad at me. Anyway. Here's the third installment of New Beginnings!**

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 3: Prove Your Worth_

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><p>Well that was certainly not what the redhead was expecting. They didn't look anything alike. But then again, siblings didn't have to look alike to be family. Look at Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. The redhead followed the woman through the village, earning feared looks from the villagers and the young girls blushing as they laid eyes upon him. He paid them no attention, but rather stared at the architecture of the buildings and things. He wondered what the leader of the village looked like. Was it a male? Female? Child? Who knew...<p>

Gaara followed silently, seeing the villagers nodding and smiling and waving at the woman as they walked. It was apparent that everyone in the village loved this woman like one of their own. But for some reason, he got something odd off of her. What was that power before? She wasn't a Jinchuuriki was she? No, the Jinchuuriki were extracted. But then again, his was returned to him, so why couldn't the Nibi have a new place to reside? Still... that didn't seem right. The power was different than that of a normal Jinchuuriki. There was something different about this woman. Something... unnatural. He supposed he would find out later. No use in rushing after all. He didn't even know if he'd be staying here so why worry about one of the inhabitants? The woman turned back to him and grinned before turning back and walking a bit faster down a long dirt path that led up to a castle that very closely resembled Orochimaru's in Oto. The only difference was it was above ground and the roofing was a deep shade of blue. As they advanced on the castle, Gaara noticed the palace-like structure getting bigger. Or maybe it was that the path they were on was a downhill one. Maybe a combination.

The woman sighed as she stopped walking, Gaara doing the same only a moment later, and leaped into the air, landing on a walkway high up. She looked down at Gaara with a small grin. "Stay there! I'll unlock the doors!" she called down to him as she disappeared into the area, leaving Gaara to survey the area silently. The palace was definitely tall. It had multiple levels. From what he could tell, it had about five. And that was just what he could see from the ground. The rooftops were a deep navy blue and the rest of the building was an off-white color. Its structure resembled an old Japanese shrine of sorts. In front of him were intricately designed double doors. To the right and left of the palace was shrubbery that was trimmed into neat little blocks. Whoever resided here definitely didn't want for anything, that was for sure. It seemed there was a small river going all the way around the palace, acting like a moat of sorts. There was a deep blue bridge that led over it to the palace.

The double doors opened with a creek, earning Gaara's attention. He walked up to the bridge and crossed over it silently, meeting the woman at the doors, who stood with a small grin. "Come on in. Don't mind the mess. We're still working on getting things resituated after the attack a few weeks back," she said as she turned on her heel, her fiery strands swishing behind her elegantly, and walking down the narrow hallway. Gaara hesitantly followed, keeping his head straight, but letting his eyes roam the intricately decorated hallways. Tapestries hung on the walls with the symbol of Tani, as well as symbols of 'courage,' 'strength,' 'loyalty,' and 'discipline.' By the decorations, Gaara could easily tell that this village was one to be reckoned with when it came to determination. It was a pity that there weren't that many ninja from the village though. It was a moderately-sized village, but not that many ninja came from it. Such a prideful village gone to waste, in his opinion. But then again, maybe it was because they simply didn't have the time to train ninja and go up the ranks to Jonin or Sannin. A fleeting thought passed through his mind that made him want to help train their own army, like Suna. But that was only fleeting, nothing more.

As he walked through the halls, he felt the floor steadily rising, hinting at the rise of a ramp. He looked through the columns of the castle to see that they were indeed rising into the castle. Geez, didn't these people believe in stairs? Nonetheless, he walked up the steadily-rising ramp and passed by intricately designed doors with symbols of 'conference,' 'storage,' and 'tactical advisory' on the doors. This castle was very distinct. Hell, it wasn't even like a castle; it was more like a fortress. He wondered what else they had in this castle, but that was another fleeting thought. The woman walked in silence as she slowed to a stop in front of double doors at the end of the hallway. These doors were tall and red with golden lining. Definitely not shabby. It was almost like royalty lived here. He observed the doors silently, not letting on either way if he liked it or not, and waited for the woman to either move or say something. All she did was look at him and grin a little. "This is the leader's office room. Hardly ever here, but if you need the leader, this is where the office is. It's the leader's little hole," she said with a small snicker.

Gaara simply rose a brow at the woman. Did she find that funny? He supposed so... She shook her head and opened the door, letting herself in and leaving the thing open for him to follow if he wanted. Gaara did just that and went in behind her. He looked around in silence, sea green eyes roaming the small area in observation. A desk perched against a window with mounds of papers on top of the flat surface. A chair behind it. A desk off to the side against the wall with more papers scattered throughout the surface. The area looked worse than Gaara's old office. And that was saying a lot. The woman walked over and sat on the corner of the desk like she owned the place. "So... I guess you want to speak with the leader, hm?" she asked with a knowing grin. Gaara nodded without a word as if he were acknowledging Naruto in one of his greetings. The woman opened her mouth to speak, but then the door slammed open behind them, revealing a woman the same age as the woman resting on the desk. She had short brown hair and a village headband on her forehead with black eyes. She looked frantic. "Temara... what is it?" the woman asked.

"A-Akki! The village is under attack! We're surrounded! We can't handle them all by ourselves with such a small army! We need your help!" Temara exclaimed as she caught her breath, having apparently ran all this way.

The woman, now known as Akki, looked at Gaara with a challenging smirk. "Up for a challenge? Time to prove yourself, Kazekage," she said as she hopped off the desk and walked to the window behind the chair. She looked down to see the village in a panic with some houses on fire. She frowned darkly as her eyes flashed a deadly red from Nekomata. She licked her lips, itching for a battle before her hair started to prickle and raise in short spikes with the thrill of a battle. "Let's go, Kazekage," she growled as she darted out the window and landed gracefully on her feet on the rooftop just a bit below, leaping down the levels as she went. Gaara stared after her before releasing a small sigh of annoyance. He used his own skills to leap down the stories to the bottom, seeing Akki sprint off in a flurry of animalistic fury. Having no other choice, Gaara followed after her and made it to their destination without a problem. Of course, that was while he was dodging frantic citizens running through the streets and into their poorly made houses that would offer little protection for them. He honestly didn't know why they would do such a thing, but at the same time, where else could they go?

"Here they come," Akki growled in the mixed voice of her own and Nekomata's. He turned his sight to the village border end and saw nothing, but felt everything. Before them were three different chakra signatures. One was closing in fast, followed by the other two. Then there were some in the south end of the village, which made Gaara think this was an ambush. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the people that were closing in, their forms finally having left the shadows. From the outlines of the figures, Gaara could distinguish two as female, and one as male. He remained calm in his rooted stance while Akki snarled and crouched down on all fours like a cat hissing at the intruder to warn them they don't like them. Her eyes fixated on the intruders as they came to a halt and just stood there, man in the middle with the two women on the side. Their faces and heads were covered, save their eyes. The woman on the right had striking baby blue eyes. The man in the middle had menacing green, and the woman to the left had sugar not-so-innocent pink eyes. "Why are you here! Haven't you done enough to our village!" she snarled as she dug her claws into the dirt to get ready to shove off.

The male's eyes crinkled like he was smirking at the cat woman. "You know why we're here. Don't act all innocent in front of your new boyfriend, Akki. Now, give us what we came for!" he growled as his own body started to warp into a cloak of another animal. First tail. Then another. Then another. Gaara just stared as the man started to sprout tails after tails of the beast that was inside of him. Though that wasn't as likely possible, since it was rare that all the beasts gathered so easily and were so close at one time, it seemed that that was what was happening. Another tail sprouted and the man's eyes turned a cornflower blue color. Pink markings graced the underneath of his eyes and one last white tail sprouted from his being. It was then that Gaara knew that this was the fabled five-tailed dolphin horse Bijuu he'd been told about. It was only rumored, yet here he was seeing it for himself. But again, there was something off, just like with Akki. The man glowered at the two before him while the women stood at his side motionless. "You cannot win against me, Akki," came a warped voice of the Bijuu that influenced him.

Akki's eyes narrowed at him dangerously as she growled and started to dig the balls of her feet into the dirt before shoving off in attack mode at the man. Gaara stayed where he was, knowing this was their fight. That is, until the women started turning on their own as well. The woman with pink eyes sprouted four furry, red tails. His sea green orbs narrowed, recognizing the rumor as the four-tailed monkey. Now, this was just getting ridiculous. The last time the tailed beasts and their Jinchuuriki were together over a dispute, a war broke out and many died, including some Jinchuuriki. Was this what was about to happen again? But how could it when Akki knew this man and they were not very friendly toward one another, and Gaara had pretty much lived right next door to the land? He would have heard something, right? Wouldn't he had sensed energies out the yang? Or was he simply too enthralled in paperwork and self-regret to have noticed? Surely he wasn't that oblivious to his surroundings?

It was at that time that Gaara realized how oblivious he was to the surroundings of the neighboring territories. So entranced was he by his paperwork and his grief of losing his brother and by the regret of accidentally murdering his villagers, that he didn't even realize there was a war going on right in Suna's backyard. As soon as the woman with pink eyes finished transforming, her eyes were a sinister orange and her form was a bit bulkier. Though her slender form could still be seen through the red chakra cloak the monkey produced. The other woman with the piercing icy blue eyes let a maroon cloak cover her body. She closed her eyes and let the cloak explode into eight tails, resembling the eight-tailed ox. Okay, this was just insane. A Nibi, an Ichibi, Hachibi, Yonbi, _and_ a Gobi all in the same place? Gaara was tempted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. If he were any less of a stoic man, he would have. The two girls took off without a word, their speed rivaling that of the fox's when Naruto was possessed. One dashed off to the side of him and the other just disappeared. Before he could analyze where she had gone, the woman with the Hachibi was behind him and aimed a punch to his head. Sand shot up, thanks to Shukaku doing its job. When the sand dissipated, the woman was gone, as was the Yonbi. Gaara glanced over to see the man and the Yonbi starting to assault Akki together. His eyes widened a fraction before dodging out of the way as explosive tags were sent his way. "I am your opponent; not them," she said calmly as she landed on her feet gracefully while Gaara regained his footing, landing in a defensive stance.

Gaara glared at the overly calm woman before him. She was too arrogant. But there was something off about her, aside from the misplaced Hachibi. As he continued to easily dodge the woman's attacks, he tried to think of what was so off about this whole thing. The Jinchuuriki were right under his nose the whole time, yet there's something different about them. They weren't acting like true Jinchuuriki. Sure, their powers were some to be reckoned with, but that wasn't all to it. There were other markings that were distinctive. Certain characteristics the Jinchuuriki had to possess in order for the Bijuu to like them and accept their homes. Yet with these four people, there were none. As Shukaku started to laugh in the back of his head, Gaara got angrier before he calmed himself down. He wouldn't feed into Shukaku's manipulating ways. _"Who's being manipulating, Gaara? I know something you don't."_

Gaara faltered for a quick moment, but regained himself in time so the woman just scratched him, leaving a burned scratch on his arm from the sheer force and power of her chakra cloaking. And that's when he saw it. On her right shoulder, as she hit the dirt from the missed attack, there was a marking that resembled something akin to Orochimaru's curse mark. The woman's mark was in the shape of a diamond. Four diamonds lined up to form a bigger diamond with two squiggles to the east and west ends of the bigger diamond. The marking itself was just a tad darker than the woman's skin, but not by much, which is why he missed it before. Knowing what was wrong with her now, and seeing that the area was raised a bit, he could only deduce that it was an implant of some sorts. He had to remove it. Maybe that was what was wrong with her. But he didn't know what kind of jutsu the person used to make that seal, so he was messing with fire right now. He dodged another attack and then grabbed the woman's arm, only to yank her forward, making her lose her balance. The chakra cloak burned his hands, but he paid it no mind. He slammed her face into the dirt with the assistance of Shukaku's strength from her fighting and earned a growl from the woman's muffled face. He snatched the shirt aside and let his sand wrap around the mark, slicing the skin and eliminating the thing beneath the skin. What he saw was disgusting as fuck.

There on the ground, squirming and covered with blood, was a black leech with the same seal on its back. His sand crushed it as soon as Gaara closed his fist, eliminating it once and for all. He then averted his sight from the leech and looked down at the woman on the ground, who hadn't moved since she was forced to eat dirt. She remained still as her wound closed up by itself. A few more moments of nothing happening and the woman started to groan. She slowly got to her knees, her hand going to her shoulder where the leech was cut out. She sat back on her knees and felt around, only to blink curiously and look up at Gaara, who was glaring down at her, ready to fight again. "Did you... did you take it out?" she asked, her voice different than before and her eyes clearer than before when she had them clouded over during the fight. Her eyes were now a deep cerulean, much different than the icy blue than before. She gave him a small timid smile in thanks. She averted her glance to the side where she felt another chakra signature to see the Yonbi and Gobi ganging up on the Nibi. Her eyes widened. "So, she has it, too?" she asked as she dragged herself to her feet. She ripped the mask from her face to reveal a young woman in her mid-twenties. Her lips were a soft pink and her skin a healthy pale. Her hair was short and spiky and of the purest color of snow. She looked like royalty with how beautiful she was. Of course, Gaara knew no other to compare to but Princess Tsunade of the Leaf.

"What is 'it'?" he asked stoically, mildly interested in what she was referring to. However, if she was speaking of the leech he pulled out of her body, then she had to be right. But the powers that was extraordinarily familiar to those of the Bijuu's hosts, then yes, as well. However, Gaara had to make sure what she meant before he jumped to conclusions.

The woman shook her head, shaking off the question as well. "After we finish this fight, I will explain everything to my knowledge. First, we have to save her," she said as she crouched down and let the ox spirit possess her once more in a cloak of maroon. Moments later, she opened her mouth and revealed tusks before allowing a bright white light to spit forward toward the crowd of three while Gaara watched on silently. As they all dispersed, Gaara's eyes darted to Akki to see if she was all right. She was scratched up rather badly and her body was burned from the surge of chakra that had been bestowed upon it, but nothing that wouldn't heal over time. The Yonbi growled and leaped into the tree, hanging upside down for a split moment while performing hand signs. Gaara's sand jolted to attention in front of Akki to shield her from the incoming blast. This, of course, earned the attention of Akki and the other two combatants. The fighters seemingly forgot about the ex-Kazekage, but that worked a little to his advantage. With them forgetting about him, he had the element of surprise. His sea green eyes watched Akki as she slowly got to her feet, a small toothy feline smile sent his way in thanks before dashing off to the side of the sand barrier, which promptly dissipated. And she was on the move again.

The Gobi leaped into a tree, finding shelter within the darkness of the shadows. Moments later, kunai coated in white were sent hurling toward Akki and Gaara. The woman possessed by the Hachibi growled as her tails darted out to swat away the kunai with ease, flinging them back at the Gobi like nothing. A roar of pain was heard from the shadows and not a moment later, the man fell to his knees onto the dirt below the sanctuary of the canopies. The Yonbi growled as she rushed in front of the man, glaring and snarling at the three offensive fighters. Gaara remained silent as he glared at the two. He extended his hand slowly, palm down and fingers spread. The sand from his gourd crawled down his arm like a deadly serpent. When it reached his fingertips, it floated off into the air, aiming toward the two. The Yonbi watched with caution as it grew closer, the man glaring at it angrily, his eyes flashing a deadly blue. He growled and disappeared within a second of the sand grabbing the woman and holding her tightly in its unrelenting grip. Gaara remained calm throughout the whole capture. Akki remained silent as she walked closer to the Yonbi. The Hachibi walked closer as well, earning a defiant snarl from her as she grinned and popped into a blade of grass.

Once the imminent threat was gone, Akki rounded on the Hachibi and growled territorially at her. "Who are you and why are you here?" she snarled.

The Hachibi let a small smile grace her features, making Akki falter a bit. "My name is Hana. And I'll explain everything to the best of my abilities."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, there ya have it! Chapter 3. Sorry it's a little lengthy, but I do hope it makes up for my temporary hiatus Anyway… working on Chapter 4 now :3 Thanks to my readers! Reviews make me happeh.**


	4. Explanations and Understandings

**A/N: Well, there was chapter 3! Sorry it took so long! But at least it was worth it, right? Maybe? Sort of? ...A little? I dunno. Anywho. This is chapter 4! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 4: Explanations and Understandings_

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><p>Akki lowered her defenses, if only a little, at the woman introducing herself as Hana. Well, at least they'd get an explanation, right? She growled, but resumed her normal stance of uncaring. Gaara stayed where he was for a moment before glancing to the side to see Akki staring at him. Why was she staring at him? Did he look weird? Had he done something wrong? He brushed it off for the time being, thinking it was just her being skittish. He then saw her avert her glance back to Hana. "Fine. Start explaining," she growled.<p>

Hana smiled softly and nodded. "Well, honestly, I don't know how to start-"

"Start with what village you come from and why you're here," Akki demanded as she crossed her arms. Gaara glanced at her for a moment. Someone needed help with her interrogation techniques. And they needed help badly. Didn't she realize that if she were just rude like that that Hana would be less likely to tell the truth? Of course, his village wasn't the best with their interrogation techniques either. They used torture after all.

"Right. Of course," Hana said as she chuckled for a moment. "Well... I'd be lying if I told you I know exactly how I came to follow Jayden. To be honest, I hate him more than I hate my own uncle, and that's saying a lot. Uh... anyway... My original village is Iwa. I was just starting out for my Jonin exam, but then it all went black. I don't remember anything from that day. I remember waking up that morning, rushing to the exam... and seeing Jayden. The rest is black."

Gaara blinked at the information. Mind control? Influence? Repressed memory? All of those could have happened, he supposed. "You don't remember _any_thing?" he clarified. That was a little interesting, he had to admit. To just go to the exam, then the rest is blank. He couldn't imagine that happening to him. But then again, he wasn't really one to empathize with people on a personal level until they became his friend, so whatever.

Hana simply shook her head regrettably. "The next thing I remember is waking up and tasting dirt," she said with a small laugh. Gaara pursed his lips at that, attempting to hide the urge to grin. Well, he had to do what he had to do, right? He couldn't just have her attack him and kill him, now could he? If getting her to eat dirt was the best way he could see to get her off his back so he could do something to help, then so be it. He'd do it again if he had to. Hey, at least she was free from that leech.

"What were you talking about when you referred to Akki having one, too?" he asked, prodding deeper from the previously unanswered question.

The woman blinked and turned her eyes upward to the sky in thought. "Oh! About that..." She looked at Akki. "Are you possessed by the Nibi?" she asked unexpectedly.

Akki deadpanned. Was this woman serious? Had she not seen her fight? Had she not seen the influence of the Nibi in her fighting style? Or was she just that ditsy to where she didn't see it? "Tch. Of _course_ I-"

"I mean the _real_ Nibi. No imitation. Do you have a seal mark where it was placed inside of you?" Hana continued.

The orange haired firecracker thought for a moment. A seal mark? She'd seen her body plenty of times, but she'd never seen any sorts of marks. Her body was clean of any contaminants like ink and tattoos and markings. Well, minus when she was possessed. "No... why? Am I supposed to have one?"

"Have you, or any of your ancestors or family, noticed a strange mark on you when you were a child?" Hana asked with a hard expression, relaying the importance of the situation. That joking had no room anymore.

Akki glared at the woman. Who did this woman think she was? She had no right to ask about her family or who had seen her naked! It was her personal life, not Hana's. She had no right to ask about any of this. Just to humor her, however, Akki answered, "No. Why do you ask?"

Hana looked at Gaara, ignoring Akki's question to ask another. "And you. Have you had any markings when you were a child?"

Gaara thought for a moment. His past was fuzzy. He didn't really remember anything except that his uncle betrayed him and he killed him and he put the red 'ai' on his forehead. Thinking back on it, he did have a pretty weird mark early on, but it disappeared within his first year of life. He nodded silently.

Hana's eyes brightened. "Is it still there? Or has it disappeared?" she asked with a rushed, hyperactive sense of tone.

"It is gone."

She nodded as if she just successfully described the meaning of life. Akki's hair prickled with annoyance. "Why! Why does it matter?" she growled angrily and impatiently at the woman. She had just ignored her! No one ignored her! How dare she ignore her in her neck of the woods!

The blue eyed female looked at Akki seriously. "Because. When a Jinchuuriki has a Bijuu implanted into them, typically at a very young age so they can grow with it and get used to it, the mark stays for no more than a few years. After a few years, the mark disappears into the person's skin, acting as a camouflage so it cannot be reversed. Of course, there are exceptions where as soon as it is cast, it disappears, but those cases are rare. It depends on the individual. That's why I was asking if you or any of your family or relatives ever saw a mark on you," Hana explained. Akki still looked lost, but Gaara looked impassive, although he was really absorbing the information. Hana sighed. "He has a real Bijuu inside of him. You and I do not."

Akki's eyes widened momentarily. "Whattaya mean! I have a real Nibi-"

Hana shook her head. "No, you don't. You don't have the Nibi inside of you. Someone else does. What you have inside of you is actually remnants of chakra _from_ the Nibi."

Gaara's eyes widened minutely. So that's why she seemed off. Shukaku laughed in the back of his mind, making Gaara sober up from his previous amazement. _**"I see, says the blind man to his incompetent son."**_

Gaara frowned. _"It is 'deaf;' not incompetent,"_ he corrected the beast. Shukaku scoffed in his head.

"_**You know what I mean."**_

Gaara broke off with his conversation with Shukaku in time to hear Akki start talking in a dejected tone. "S-so... how did it get into me? If this is really remnants of its chakra, then... why does this happen?" she asked, referring to the way she fights and lets the chakra possess her.

Hana could tell she was taking it hard. Much harder than what the blue eyed girl originally took her share of news. She frowned and shook her head. "The chakra was implanted into you-"

"HOW!" Akki screamed as she teetered on the edge of hysterics.

Hana hesitated, phrasing her words carefully. Well, as carefully as one can when put on the spot and answers being demanded out of her at the snap of a finger. "When a Bijuu completely possesses the Jinchuuriki, or even is set free from its home inside the Jinchuuriki, their form appears visible to everyone. The beasts are much taller than any building that we can build, and way stronger than any storm that comes our way. When they use their own chakra, it leaves a mist around the area with bits of the Bijuu's chakra floating around. Once the Bijuu is banished inside of another Jinhcuuriki or whatever the case, the chakra remains until it eventually dissipates."

Akki glared at her. "That doesn't answer my question," she growled.

"I'm not finished," Hana said with her own glare back at Akki. Gaara had to admit that the glare didn't suit her features in the least. "While the chakra is still hanging in the air, some people actually capture the chakra remnants and study it. Some actually put the chakra into beings to see if it's the same as a Jinchuuriki having the Bijuu inside of them. The researchers want to know if the chakra will have the same effect on a person as the original Bijuu does." Hana stopped for a moment and bit her lip. "We are not real Jinchuuriki, Akki. We are simply products of the fragments left behind from Bijuu."

Akki's multi-colored eyes widened at the woman's finished explanation. That can't be. That absolutely cannot be! Gaara looked at the woman as she had a miniature panic attack inside her own mind. "I-I don't believe you!"

Hana sighed heavily and shook her head. "Believe me or not, it's true. Let me ask you something." She turned her sight to Akki. "Have you ever _heard_ Nekomata speak to you?"

Akki paused for a moment. Good question. Come to think of it, she'd never heard the voice of the Bijuu, even though she had the powers and abilities of it. She had never once heard the voice speaking to her in her mind. "No..." she whispered glumly.

Hana turned to Gaara. "Have you ever heard Shukaku speak to you?"

Gaara's brow twitched and he nodded, as much as he wanted to deny it. Hana then turned to Akki and silently approached her. "You see? We don't have any Bijuu inside of us. There's nothing to be angry about, Akki. Once the chakra runs its course, we'll be human again. We'll be able to lead normal lives."

Akki turned her glare up at the woman in front of her. Gaara took a quick notice as to how she had changed. "I don't _want_ to be normal! I can't afford to be normal!" she growled as her eyes turned a deep amber color. She raised a claw to attack the woman, but Gaara's sand shot up to protect her instead. "If I'm normal, I can't protect them! I need to protect them! You just don't understand!" she growled as she darted off into the forest without another word with her feline-like speed.

Once she was gone, Gaara lowered his sand barrier and stared off in the direction of Akki. Why was it so important for her to protect her village? Sure, Gaara felt the same way about his, but that was different. He was the Kazekage. He _needed_ to protect his village. It was his duty and his right. But Akki... she was just a part of the village as everyone else. Gaara then started to wonder if she was one of those people that shouldered the responsibility alone and made it out to be her duty, and hers alone. He frowned at that thought. That wasn't right. Everyone else in the village needed to be trained to take care of themselves to lighten the load off of Akki. He took a step toward the forest to follow her, but Hana shook her head. "Leave her be..." she whispered. "She's trying to find a way to cope with this information. It'll take time, but she'll come to accept it. Just like I have." Gaara's eyes narrowed at her. Akki wasn't like Hana, and Hana wasn't like Akki. Some people needed to be protected.

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><p><strong>AN: Well! That's chapter 4! Hope it wasn't too much of a bore for you! Anyway. Chapter 5 is up next! Stay tuned! Reviews make me happy! Ja ne.**


	5. Reflections

**A/N: Chapter 5! Wootness! Hope I don't disappoint. Took me forever to start it. Had the middle, and had the end, but I didn't have the start. Actually, I think a lot of my thoughts got lost in the transition from head to document... but we won't mention that. =/ Anyway! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 5: Reflections_

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><p>Flashes of green and brown flashed by her eyes as she ran through the thick-wooded forest. Thoughts raced through her mind, wavering, unceasing. It reminded her of the days she actually started to question if she was human with the power of the Nibi inside her body. It took her months to accept who she was and what power she possessed. When she finally accepted it, she had become stronger and learned to control her abilities. She put all her frustrations to a cause. She could protect her sister. She could protect her village. She could protect its inhabitants. She had a place. A reason. A cause. She had a purpose. The villagers didn't look at her like she was a freak of nature anymore since she learned how to control her powers. Given, she'd always be a freak of nature with the inhumanly possible powers she was granted, but she was less of a freak now that she had a purpose and a use for her powers. The villagers didn't fear her now. They loved her and were grateful to her.<p>

But now...

Her powers were only cheap imitations of the real Nibi's powers. She was a fake. A fraud. A failure. A cheap imitation of the real thing. She was no Jinchuuriki. She'd lived a lie for the past four years. She'd been parading around as the Nibi's Jinchuuriki, and here she was lying about it. "It's not fair," she whispered into the wind, letting the harsh gusts carry it off to some unknown destination. She eventually slowed to a sluggish walk, head fallen and eyes focused on nothing but the changing dirt beneath her feet. She had failed her village. She'd lied to her villagers. She'd lied to her imoto. The same imoto that looked up to her like she was some sort of god that could do no wrong. A role model. And now she just took her imoto's image and slung it in the mud.

Tears prickled at the woman's eyes as she slowed to an unmoving walk. In her mind, she was still walking, but her body was too overcome with grief and regret to respond. She was detached from the world and herself. Everything she knew was a lie. All the promises she'd made to her sisters and brothers... lies. Everything that she had ever hoped for was a lie. With her power, her fake power that wasn't really her own, she had hurt many, but succeeded in nothing. All this time, she had thought she was getting stronger, yet she was nowhere close to getting stronger. In fact, she was weaker. Weaker for relying too heavily on her fake power. Relying too heavily on the "Nibi's" power. She was too blinded by the desire to help people and to keep people safe that she gave in to the power that wasn't even really hers. All this time, she'd been relying on false hope.

Akki sighed pathetically as she glared at the ground. She looked at her hand, palm up to the sky, and glared even more. "Why have I been so stupid?" she whispered into the wind. "I should've known this power wasn't mine. I just... wanted to protect them." She felt so pathetic for believing in something so... stupid. Her brows furrowed angrily as she clenched her fists at her sides.

Then her thoughts drifted to _him_. She frowned that her thoughts would go to him, but at the same time, it was bound to happen. He was a leader. He had led his country for years. And he just... gave it all up as if it were nothing. But her... she couldn't afford to abandon her village. She couldn't afford to leave everything she knew behind. Not when so many people relied on her. How was he even able to do such a thing? She wondered how many families begged him not to go. How many people wished him to stay. How many people relied on him to defend them and lead them in the right direction. Her eyes flashed with anger. She could never be so cold. Sure, she got pissed off at the villagers every once in a while, but never to the point where she would abandon them and leave them helpless in their most dire time of need. The villagers needed her protection just as much as she did them.

She frowned as she stood in silence. "I can't protect them with a power that can fade and die at any given moment," she said as she dropped her hand back to her side. She sighed in defeat before shaking her head. "I'm nothing but a copy... They'd all be better off with the original Nibi. Not some cheap imitation." That's right. She was a copy. An imitation. A _substitution_. A wannabe. She had no place to defend the village. She was just a cheap imitation of the real Nibi. A fraction of the power that the Nibi possessed. She was just some sort of freak experiment. She was some person's sick joke of an idea to see what would happen if a Bijuu's chakra were implanted into a person. She was a failure. She failed herself. She failed her village. And worst of all, she failed her little sister. The same little sister that rooted her on and watched her defend the village single handedly.

But now she was useless. Now that Tani had Gaara, everything would be way better. Everything would be way easier for anyone to live. If they all found out that her power would soon diminish, they'd kick her out of the village. She wouldn't have a home. She wouldn't have a use. She wouldn't have a... purpose. That was what scared her more than anything else: being useless. Just being another plain villager with no sort of defense system whatsoever. Having tons of people crying and screaming for her help while people attacked her village, but her being physically unable to help. Tears prickled at the sides of her eyes again. Except this time, they didn't go away. As she imagined the villagers screaming and crying for help in her mind, she began to sob and the tears leaked over, cascading down her pale cheeks. She couldn't take it. She _wouldn't_ take it. She wouldn't allow the villagers to be slaughtered just because of her inability to protect them with the help of the Nibi's chakra. Her eyes narrowed angrily as the tears that dripped from her cheeks moistened the dirt in a small dot.

"I don't think I'd be able to handle that..." she said softly. Being all alone was not a specialty of hers like it was for _him_. No, he was used to being alone, hence why he abandoned his village without a care in the world. He was despicable. He was not loyal to his village like she was with his. Then a new spark arose in Akki that she didn't think would ever come back. She wanted to do what she could to protect them no matter what. She wanted to help them. To always stand by them and defend them to the best of her abilities. Then another thought decided to crash down on that one that she had before. The villagers wouldn't have her now that they had a real Jinchuuriki to protect them. After all, who would want a substitute for the real thing? Gaara was a real Jinchuuriki and Akki was an imitation of one. The Nibi's chakra would surely fade with time and she'd be just another regular human. Nothing special. No distinctive powers that separated her from the rest. Just plain old Akki, ex-leader of Tani.

With newfound anger, Akki started running again, not noticing that the trees became scarcer and scarcer as she darted on. The grass soon turned to dirt and then sand. All the while, her hatred for Gaara rose up in her belly, making her want to tell him to carry himself somewhere else and to just scream at him for ruining everything. But she couldn't. She stopped and fell to her knees in the hot golden sand as tears assaulted her eyes full force, falling onto her pale cheeks and raining onto the sand. This was all too much to take in. She was such a disappointment. How would her villagers look at her now that she knew her powers would fade? Would they shun her and demand she be removed from power? Most likely. Would they look at her as a fake? Undoubtedly. Would they demand Gaara be put in office instead, or someone of equal fighting aptitude? Definitely. All of these thoughts only added to the amount of sobs that her tiny chest heaved out and the tears her eyes squeezed out.

As she continued on her path, she hadn't even noticed the terrain turn to desert, showing she had entered Suna territory. So lost in her thoughts was she that Akki didn't even notice chakra signatures speeding up closer to her. Without warning, Akki felt sand being blown up against her face, blinding her to her surroundings by a large gust of wind. She growled out defensively as she tried to wipe the sand from her eyes to see. Her senses were clouded over by depression that she hadn't even noticed a chakra signature behind her, thus not knowing he was there until the sharp blow to her head was delivered. Her eyes slid shut and her body hit the ground as he slipped into a state of unconscious bliss.

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><p>Hours later, Akki awoke, her hands above her head, tied together over a support beam. Her ankles were bound together as well, just for preventative measures. Her blurred sight drifted around the room, noticing all sorts of darkness and dim lighting the dingy room had to offer her. Where was she? She had no idea. First she was walking, and then she was assaulted by a sand storm and then she was hit upside the head. Speaking of, she had a headache from hell right about now. As her head throbbed, she let out a small groan of pain. Damn that hurt...<p>

"So you're awake," came a deep male voice from across the chamber. Akki's sight rose with an instant, her head instantly regretting it the moment it happened. Her eyes fell upon a man with cold eyes and red facial markings with a rag of sorts covering the left side of his face. Her eyes narrowed defensively. "What were you doing in Suna territory?"

Akki felt lost. "Suna... territory?" she asked silently. Oh, wait. Wasn't Gaara from Suna? How the hell did she get all the way from Tani to Suna in such a short amount of time! Had she really run that far and that fast? Was she really so desperate? Her brows knitted together in confusion for a brief moment. "Why should I answer to you?" she spat, gaining her spunkiness back.

The man sighed and shook his head. "Because _you_ are the intruder here. Now answer me!" he snarled angrily.

"Last time I checked, you weren't my father!" she hissed right back, feeling the hair on the back of her neck prickle and stand on end.

The man growled and started to advance on the woman before a female voice broke the tension. "Baki! That's enough!"

The man known as Baki stopped and crossed his arms over his chest in impatience. A woman leaped down from above and landed between Baki and Akki. She had blonde hair pulled into four ponytails, wearing a kimono with a large fan on her back. Akki frowned at her when green eyes fell upon her multi-colored ones. "Great, a bitch joins the ranks of attempting to interrogate," Akki spat harshly.

The woman frowned at Akki's insolence, but remained silent for a moment to keep her cool. "My name is Temari. I'm sorry to tie you up like this, but the village is on high alert right now because the Kazekage-"

"Temari, she has no right to know that!" Baki spat, breaking her of her explanation.

Temari sent a short glare at Baki. "She has every right to know why we're interrogating her!" she hissed back at the man before turning back to Akki, who started to think what a fucked up situation this all was. "As I was saying, the village is on high alert because Gaara, our Kazekage abandoned the village. Without a leader, the city goes into a defensive position. Then you stumbled into our territory with an outrageous amount of chakra, so we assumed you're a threat to us. Unless you can convince us otherwise, we will continue to think that way," she explained calmly.

Akki glared at her. "Right... so guilty until proven innocent?"

"In a way, yes," Temari responded.

Akki scoffed under her breath. "So just because I have a higher signature than most people, I'm automatically a suspect for terrorism against your village? That makes no sense to me." But in all actuality, it did.

Temari sighed and shook her head. "Look... I'm just going to ask you a few questions, okay? Nothing too hard. Depending on your cooperation, we might let you go." At this time, the other woman glared at Temari. _Might?_ That wasn't such a good thing to say to her.

"So in other words, 'tell us all your information and we'll consider letting you go.' I don't think that's reasonable. No deal."

"Look! All I want to know is where my brother is!" Temari yelled as her blonde brows knitted together in desperation. She had hidden it well, but she was extremely concerned for her brother. She didn't know where he was, who he was with, or what he was doing, but she was really worried. And Akki might be the only person to tell her where he was.

Akki's brows pulled together this time at Temari's outburst. "What makes you think I know where Gaara is?" she asked in an eerily calm voice. "Or even if he's still alive?" Gaara abandoned Suna for a reason. And even though she didn't know him all that well, she felt obligated to cover for him. Even if it meant that she would get tortured. He ran away for a reason, and though she didn't know what that reason was, she would still defend him. He was part of Tani now. And Akki looked out for Tani villagers.

Temari's eyes widened. "W-what did you say!" she hissed as she started to go after Akki. Baki stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "What do you mean 'if' he's still alive! What did you do to him!"

It was then that Akki realized just how that sounded. "I didn't do anything to him. I don't even know who he is! All I know is that he's the Kazekage of Suna and he abandoned his post. I don't know anything else."

"You're covering for him," Baki stated, gaining Akki's glare and Temari's look of question. "Why cover for a man you don't know? What is the point in that? Do you honestly believe that he would do the same for you?"

Akki sent a sharp glare at him as her eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm not covering for anyone," she hissed.

"Where is he!" Temari growled at her as she unfolded her fan and prepared to attack with it.

Akki remained silent. What could she say? She left him in the woods outside of Tani? That he could either still be there or not be there? These people were looking for facts, something Akki couldn't possibly give to them. She didn't know if Gaara was still there or if he moved on. All she knew was where she left him. But even then, those whereabouts were vague.

"Please... if you know anything, please tell me. I just want to know if he's all right," Temari begged, which was a rarity in itself. Temari never begged anyone unless she was desperate. And when it came to her kin... she was desperate.

Akki still refused to say anything. Her lips pressed together in a thin line as she mulled some more things over in her head. Gaara left for a reason. There had to be a reason why he abandoned his village. There had to be. No one just up and left for no reason at all. Sure, she knew little of Gaara, and only heard about him by word of mouth, but she still knew deep down that he would not do something so ignorant and so... cold. She honestly didn't know why he would leave his position as Kazekage of such an important city. She couldn't comprehend that. She sighed to herself and lowered her head at the very thought of abandoning her village. How someone could leave behind everyone they knew and grew up with at the drop of the hat... she never would know. Then it occurred to her... why the hell is she covering for Gaara when she doesn't even know him?

Temari sighed heavily then in frustration. "Fine... if I can't get you to answer, maybe someone else can." With that, she turned on her heel and left the interrogation room without another word.

Akki lifted her head at that, wondering exactly what she meant by that. She glanced up at Baki, who stood in silence and was watching her very carefully. She sent him a glare before lowering her sight to the floor again. She just wanted to go home... but here she was, being interrogated about some man she didn't even know. Today officially sucked.

In the dimly lit room, she heard a creaking, like a rusty door opening. It slammed shut, making her flinch a little at the unpleasant sound. She heard the sound of heels clanking against the floor as the person made their way closer and closer with each agonizing step. Akki felt her breath hitch multiple times as the clanking of the heels got closer and closer. She hated suspense. She looked up from her orange bangs and frowned at what she saw. Before her stood a woman that had the whitest-as-snow hair and the palest of blue eyes, almost like cornflower blue. Her complexion was a pale one and her face looked sweet, but Akki knew better than to think so. She knew this woman. And she hated this woman.

"Well, well, well... Nice to see you again, Akki," the woman said with a false smile. The smile that graced her lips was a condescending one as she stared down at her chained up victim.

Baki sighed and walked up behind her. "You know what to do, Tsuki. Get anything you can," he said sternly.

The woman, now known as Tsuki, waved the man off and put her hand on her hip, looking at the older man over her shoulder with apparent boredom plastered on her face. "You don't need to tell me my job, Baki. I think I'm more than capable of handling things on my own," she said with a scoff. Baki took the hint and glared at her insolence before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Once Baki was out of sight, Tsuki's face fell into something sadistic as sadistic could be. She turned her sight back to Akki and cracked her knuckles. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

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><p><strong>AN: Well... Finally finished chapter 5! Hope you like it. Lemme know what you think. Reviews make me jump through Cheerio's!**


	6. Interrogation

**A/N: OK! Now on to chapter 6! Let's see how this one goes, shall we? I already have a set plan of what to do with the story and where I want it to go, but let's see if I can actually stick to the timeline this time XD Anywho~ Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>New Beginnings<strong>

_Chapter 6: Interrogation_

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><p>Akki spat at the woman before her. The saliva hit the woman's cheek, Tsuki wiping it off with apparent disgust and slinging it on the floor. The fire burned in Akki's eyes as she glared up at her interrogator. Tsuki hissed at the woman as she rose her whip from her hip and cracked it along Akki's cheek, making the girl scream with pain. Blood leaked from the new wound, but that didn't stop the fire from raging angrily in her multi-colored eyes. "I hate it when you look at me like that, Akki," Tsuki taunted as she reared her whip back for another strike. "Tell me where Gaara is."<p>

The redhead just glared up at the woman, keeping to her silence at Gaara's whereabouts. "Fuck off," she hissed as she spat at her again.

Tsuki growled angrily as the spit fueled her motivation to torture her even more. She cracked her whip, the tail hitting Akki's chest this time, slitting her clothes and leaving behind a rather large gash as it bled onto the shreds. Akki cried out again, whimpering as the blood ran down her shredded clothes. With her hands tied behind her back, her fists were balled up so tight that her palms bled. Tears prickled the sides of her eyes as she glared up at Tsuki, her blonde bangs hanging over her eyes and adding to her menacing sight. "I'll ask you again, Akki. Where is he!" she snarled.

"Abuse me all you want, but I won't tell you!" she hissed back in clear defiance.

The younger female frowned at this and tutted her tongue in disappointment. "Akki, Akki, Akki... Haven't you learned by now not to smart off with the person holding the weapon?" she asked in her usual condescending tone. She twirled the whip around a few times, as if contemplating what to do next. As Akki still remained still, Tsuki shrugged. "Oh well. More fun for me!" she giggled sadistically as she flung the whip at the woman's body, striking her all over and leaving nasty gashes all throughout her small form. Despite Akki's cries of pain and fear, Tsuki still didn't stop, laughing and carrying on as evilly as possible. "Isn't this so much fun, Akki!" Tsuki screamed over said woman's screams and cries of pain. The silver haired woman continued to laugh as she took pleasure in Akki's pain.

It was a few moments later that Tsuki actually stopped whipping her and Akki hung limply where she was bound. Her legs quickly gave out on her as she panted in pain. Her body trembled uncontrollably, blood leaking and splattering onto the floor in the dimly lit room. She stared down at her essence pooled on the floor at her unstable feet. Tears from the pain and throbbing of the wounds inflicted upon her joined the pool of blood, as well as sweat. She heard Tsuki walking back and forth, her sight merely being on the heels that clacked against the floor as she paced around restlessly, thinking of her next move. "You know... you really make things boring, sis," she sighed.

Akki's panting ceased for a brief second as she swallowed, bringing moistness back to her dry throat. "D-don't... refer to me as your sister," she said weakly, her voice quivering from her strained vocal cords. "I only have two sisters, and you are no longer one of them," she said as she glared at her from under her blonde bangs.

Tsuki stopped pacing then and let out a long, high-pitched laughter, the back of her hand covering her mouth. "Don't make me laugh, dear sister! You cannot pick your family!" she laughed.

"No..." Akki said softly with a grin on her blood-stained lips. "But I sure as hell can disown them."

The white-haired female stopped laughing then and glared at the woman. "Fine... I don't want a traitor like you as a sister anyway." Just as Akki opened her mouth to retort, Tsuki cracked her whip straight against Akki's side, the long tail whipping from side to her stomach. Akki screamed in pain as her back arched against the painful bindings that restrained her lithe form. The Tani woman started to feel nauseous from all the blood loss as her vision doubled and her body swayed before her back found support on the beam holding her. She couldn't take much more of this. She'd already donated plenty of blood to the floor and wooden beam she was tied to. How much more did Tsuki demand she donate? "You know... you look really pathetic right now, sis," Tsuki taunted as her heels clicked against the floor, signaling she was getting closer to her again.

Akki remained silent as she tried to regain focus in her eyes. Sadly, the focus never came as she hung limply, all her fight and energy gone. The sad part was that she couldn't resent her sister for what she'd done and was doing to her. She understood that Tsuki was doing this for her village. Yes, Suna was Tsuki's village. She resented Tani. When she saw the road that the village was going down before the new leader came along, Tsuki ditched it. She abandoned her village, just as Gaara had done to his. Her eyes narrowed angrily as she stared with her blurred vision at the glassy floor. She never forgot the day Tsuki left the village and her and her other sisters. Akki and her imoto were the only ones that remained in that village, refusing to give up. Elana had left for the best of her family. Elana only wanted to earn more money to support them, but then she became a part of the Village hidden in the Sand, serving the Kazekage. She never came back to Tani. The only communication she had with her elder sister was through hawk mail.

A few years after Elana left, Tsuki was quick to follow, but for different reasons. She resented that her family was so low in status. She resented everything Tani stood for. She hated small villages. Tani was a small village. She thought she saw Tani going nowhere. Tsuki's solution for everything that wasn't going her way was to run away. So she ran away from Tani and joined a much larger village: Suna. She didn't stick around to see what was to become of Tani a few months later.

"Hey, are you still awake, sis?" she asked, ducking her head down and under Akki's face to see if her eyes were open. When she saw Akki's eyes try to focus on her, Tsuki grinned. "Not by much it seems." She sighed heavily as she erected herself and inspected her nails. "Ya know... this all could have been avoided if you just told the girl where her brother was. Honestly, I don't know why you're covering for him so much, but it's kind of pathetic, even for you."

"I... already told you..." Akki whispered weakly as she tried to lift her head to glare at her sister, all energy gone from her normally fiery being.

"Hm? And what exactly did you try to tell me, oh dear sister of mine?" she asked with a frown as her hand dropped to her side, done inspecting her perfectly manicured nails.

"I can't give information... that I don't have!" she hissed angrily at her, her eyes flashing a glare at her sister.

Before she was able to take her next breath, every thought and process of breathing was stolen from her when Tsuki snapped her whip against her neck this time, leaving a harsh slice on her skin. She gasped for air as she coughed violently. The onslaught continued as Tsuki whipped her some more, the last blow finally landing on her chest to knock more wind out of her, and actually knock her sister unconscious. When Tsuki saw her sister's form go limp, she tutted her tongue in disapproval. "You always were the weaker one. It's no fun when you stop screaming..." she sighed as she rolled her whip back up and exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

Tsuki walked down the hallway to the messaging room. She quickly scrawled some words down on a piece of paper and grabbed a hawk from the cage, letting it sit on her wrist as she tucked the paper into the holder on the hawk's foot and gently pet its head with a small smirk. "Go to Tani," she told it before she held her arm out the window and watched it fly off in the direction of her sister's village. With a grin, Tsuki watched it disappear in the distance before leaning against the wall arrogantly. "This should be fun."

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><p>"Did you find her?" Hana asked with a frown marring her beautiful features. After receiving a solemn shake of the head from Gaara, Hana sighed in frustration. "I don't know where else to look for her... She could have run off anywhere..." she said with a small shake of the head.<p>

"We should inform the village of her disappearance," Gaara offered with a frown of his own.

Hana sighed heavily. "I suppose you're right..." she whispered. She sighed as she started off in the direction of Tani, not really liking that she had to be the bearer of bad news. As she ran, thoughts raced through her head. What if Akki had been captured? What if she'd fallen somewhere and knocked herself unconscious? What if she'd killed herself because the grief of being a replica was too much for her? No, she surely wouldn't go that far, would she? Hana just didn't know.

She sighed one last time, for the tenth time to be accurate, before making it to the village of Tani. What she saw laid out before her was not helping the situation. Before her was a little girl, the same one that Gaara recognized as 'imoto,' standing at the village border, holding a stuffed cat that looked like it'd been through the ringer a few times and back. Her sad violet eyes stared up at Gaara with the most heart-wrenching look the man could fathom. He frowned deeply at this look the sugarplum girl gave him. "W-where's my sister?" she asked in a weak voice.

Gaara stared at the little girl for a moment before Hana stepped forward and bent down to the little girl's level. "We don't know right this minute. We're looking for her, but we need help from more grown-ups to find her," she explained to the little girl.

The little girl didn't like this answer, but she knew that this was the best she would get for now. She nodded her small head sadly as she clutched the plush cat closer to her chest. "Please find her soon..." she whispered sadly.

Gaara stepped up and stopped at the little girl's side. "We will find her and bring her home," he said with resolve. There was no way he would let this little girl be without her sister. Not if he could help it. Though he was a little curious as to why he was so eager to help the girl all of a sudden. Akki was clearly more than capable of taking care of herself, but yet here he was running to her rescue, if that's what this was. He just didn't want to see that same look in the little girl's eyes as Temari had when Kankuro was taken from them. That look of being lost with nowhere to turn to. That look that screamed desperation. The same desperation that would lead to doing something rash and inconceivable. He couldn't have a little girl making that mistake at such a young age. Not the same mistake he made when he killed his uncle. He wouldn't allow it.

The little girl looked up at Gaara for a moment, processing what he had said to her. His sea green eyes gazed back at her, showing his resolution, and she smiled softly. "Thank you, Aneki's boyfriend," she said with a small giggle as she hugged his leg. Gaara tensed up a little, not used to being touched by anyone that he didn't initiate the action with. However, as soon as he got used to it, he hesitantly patted her head. She released him and ran off into the village and into a hut, making Gaara question where exactly Akki lived.

Come to think of it, he didn't really know much about her to begin with. What if she was the type of person to desert her village? What if she was under the same sort of circumstances he was? Then it hit him. He needed to find her and get back to his own village. Even if work got too stressful and he couldn't take it, he needed to put up with it. He needed to be strong. This situation had shown him that. Akki left behind a little sister and a caring village. Gaara left behind a whole village that needed his guidance. It took him this long to gain their trust, only for him to throw it all away. He realized that now. And he didn't like his decision. He just grew so frustrated with the amount of paperwork and decisions for the stupidest things! Maybe this was what he needed: a break. A little while away from Suna, and the Kazekage was ready to go back.

As a hawk flew through the air above him, it landed on the little girl's hand. She looked at it with a bright smile. "It's the hawk Aneki usually sends from Suna!" she giggled as she took the paper from the hawk's ankle. She strained to read it, but she sighed and shyly looked up at Gaara. "I... haven't learned how to read yet... Can you read it for me, Aneki's boyfriend?"

Despite the name, Gaara nodded and took the paper from the girl. He glanced over it silently and frowned angrily at the paper as if it had offended him. With the little girl anxiously awaiting what the letter said, Gaara only seemed to frown more. Hana stepped up to Gaara and read over his shoulder. She frowned as well at the letter's contents. "What? What does it say? What did Aneki say this time?" the little girl asked as she bounced up and down eagerly.

Hana faked a smile as she looked down at the little girl. "Where is your village leader?" she asked all of a sudden.

The little girl thought for a moment. "Huh?"

"Where is the leader of your village? It's very important that we talk with them," Hana clarified.

The little girl's pink brows tugged together in confusion. "But... Aneki is gone... You were supposed to be looking for her..." she said as she clutched her stuffed animal close to her chest.

Gaara's eyes focused on the little girl for a moment, trying to comprehend why she brought up Akki. But then as soon as Hana started talking to her again, the Kazekage caught on. "I know that, sweetie, but we really need to talk to the leader now."

"I'm trying to tell you! Aneki is gone! You need to find her and then you can talk to her all you want!" she pleaded back with the woman.

Hana opened her mouth to get firm with the girl, but Gaara stopped her. "What she is trying to say is that Akki is the leader," he said as he reread what was on the paper. The letter read:

"_Villagers of Tani:_

_We have your leader. We demand you give up our Kazekage, Gaara, immediately, or she will die. If we do not have Gaara back within 48 hours, your leader will die and her remains will be sent to your village._

_Signed,_

_Suna Special Ops"_

Hana looked at Gaara for a moment. "They really want you back..." she said softly with a heavy sigh. Gaara simply nodded. "Fine. We're going to Suna-"

"No," Gaara said, not even giving her a chance to finish that statement. Hana simply looked at him, demanding an explanation. "You stay here and defend the village. I will go back to Suna and bring Akki back here."

"But that's absurd!" Hana screamed. "You could die!"

The redhead cast her a glare. He was Kazekage for a reason, damn it. That title wasn't just _given_ to him on a whim. He fought for it. He had to deserve the title. It took him quite a while for the village to accept him completely as their leader. And it would take another long while for them to forgive him. "You are this village's only defense if attackers show up."

Hana frowned. He was right. This village had no defense skills whatsoever. Whatever defense they had was taken along with Akki. Hell, Akki was their defense. Their one and only. Without her, this village would surely be overtaken. She sighed heavily. "Be careful."

Gaara remained silent as he turned on his heel to return to Suna. He had to hurry. He only had two days to get there. And it was a long walk. He'd make it there in little over a day, but it was still a ways. Especially since he didn't remember the exact path he had taken. As he made it to the village gates, the little girl ran after him. "Please, Aneki's boyfriend! Bring my sister back!" she pleaded. Gaara glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded as he continued to make his way back to the very village he deserted for his own selfish reason.

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><p><strong>AN: There! Finally done with chapter 6! So sorry for the late updates! So much has happened since my last update. I was on temporary hiatus, but I am back now!**


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